A Japanese temple, old German townhouses, and public chess tables offer a peaceful escape from the bustle of the North Side.

Chicago's Navy Pier on Lake Michigan was a training hub for aircraft carrier pilots during WWII.

This monument owes its name to a quote by the famous civil rights activist and journalist.

One of the few remaining relics of the meatpacking hub that made Chicago the "hog butcher to the world."

This cheerfully-named branch of the Chicago River is the fetid result of years of blood, entrails, and meatpacking waste.

An avant garde art museum at the University of Chicago.

First planned industrial community in the United States.

The final resting place of one of Chicago’s most iconic drill rappers.

An actual 1957 Cadillac De Ville, encased in 15 cubic yards of concrete.

Odd castle-like structures for collecting water sticking out of the Mississippi River.

Speak to a companion on the other side of the room loud and clear through this architectural anomaly.

This monument marks the point where Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri intersect.

Explore this unspoiled peninsula with 11 sandy beaches and 13 miles of hiking and biking trails (keep an eye out for soaring bald eagles overhead).

Also known as the Osaka Garden, this garden was originally built in 1893 as part of the World's Columbian Exposition.

What's left of the ruins of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition, or World's Fair, also known as the White City.

This urban drawbridge gained eternal pop culture fame when the Blues Brothers jumped it while it was raised.

One of Chicago's last seafood smokehouses perfects a dying breed of fishcraft.

A relic of the Cold War in Chicago.

The final resting place of up to 6,000 Confederate soldiers, the largest mass grave in the Western Hemisphere.

This modest post office sits on the site of H.H. Holmes' famous murder castle.

This old steel industry company town has a tradition of parking cars on the sidewalk so people can walk in the narrow streets.

This bridge was constructed from the remains of the first Ferris wheel.

A giant concrete egg marks this Indiana town as the "Egg Basket of the Midwest."

This grave marks the final resting place of pioneer John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed.